As Xiao Fan flipped through the notes, Shangguan Lanruo wore a worried expression while preparing dinner. She had intended to share certain truths with Xiao Fan in due time, but today's unexpected events had forced her hand. The evil spirit within Xiao Fan had awakened, almost seizing control of his mind.
Her greatest fears were coming to pass. The grip of the evil spirit was indescribably strong, and the ominous prediction that Xiao Fan would not live past fifteen loomed over them. He either faced the prospect of becoming a demon or risking the explosion of his meridians and internal organs.
"Xiao Fan," she whispered to herself, "I brought you to Zusheng Village because of its unknown legends. Your survival may depend on luck. If it comes to it, I will not let you face this alone."
Thoughts of their shared struggles flooded her mind, bringing a warmth to her heart.
After dinner, she urged Xiao Fan to rest. Exhausted from the day's strange occurrences, he quickly fell asleep, unaware that Shangguan Lanruo had made soup from the blood ganoderma he had collected earlier, and had ensured most of it was given to him.
In the hut, the two shared a bedroom, with no boundaries between them. Shangguan Lanruo walked to the bedside, looked at the sleeping boy tenderly, stroked his face, and treated him as the most precious treasure.
Then, in a blink of an eye, she disappeared in the room and left Zusheng Village. Her figure rushed through the woods under the moonlight, as fast as the wind, until the top of the mountain in the distance.
There, an older man was waiting for her, his long hair was a little gray, and he was wearing a simple gray dress.
"Miss." He bowed respectfully and greeted.
"Huai Lao, you are an elder, you don't have to be polite." She replied, and quickly motioned him to get up.
"Miss, we should go." The old man looked into the distance, his voice full of silent worry.
"Are they coming?" "I have been hiding my identity for so many years that I almost forgot where I came from. Now they have found me." "
Her voice gradually became low and ethereal. She felt a familiar breath coming from afar. It was someone from her clan, someone who had practiced the same martial arts as her.
"Miss, you are from the Shangguan family. Your bloodline is unquestionable. The head of the family has been concerned about you for a long time. He feels guilty and helpless. Please don't blame him."
The old man's words were full of regret.
"I have no regrets about my father, but I will not compromise. I will not be a pawn in their hands. Why do they use my marriage as a bargaining chip?"
The anger seeped into her voice, which evoked her memories of the past and made her sick.
"Reality is cruel," Mr. Huai shook his head and replied, "In a big family, true feelings are rare. You have become a victim of their interests."
"I will not be a victim. My marriage is my own choice. No one can influence it! "Shangguan Lanruo's eyes flashed with determination. Although she was gentle to Xiaofan, she was very strong in her heart - this proved that she had broken free from the shackles of the family.
"Miss, I will try my best to help you. But the Dugu family is very powerful. If you go back, the elders will not let you go easily."
"There is no other choice now." She looked back at Zusheng Village with reluctance in her eyes. "If I don't go back, they will definitely find Xiaofan's existence, and he won't even have a chance to survive."
"He was born with an evil spirit. Even if you go back, if those people don't attack him, he may not have a chance to survive." The old man's voice was heavy. He had been secretly protecting Shangguan Lanruo for many years. Of course, he knew about Xiao Fan's existence and had long realized that he was born with an evil spirit.
"I will do my best, but I need tonight. Elder Huai, please help me keep them from discovering Xiao Fan's existence."
"Leave it to me. They're just juniors; stopping them won't be difficult. Miss, you can go with peace of mind."
The old man nodded, then moved with lightning speed, leaving behind a shimmering afterimage that quickly vanished into the night.
Suddenly, a thunderclap shattered the calm of the clear night sky. Dark clouds surged, enveloping the heavens and earth, while brilliant rays of light pierced through the thick clouds, painting the world in surreal colors, as if drawn from a dream.
"Not good!"
Shangguan Lanruo's heart sank, and her face paled instantly. The sinister aura emanating from Zusheng Village was stronger than it had been that afternoon.
"Miss, go back quickly! Leave the rest to me!"
The voice of the old lady Huai came hurriedly, and she flew towards the village without hesitation, as fast as a startled wild goose.
At this time, several mysterious figures looked at this strange scene from an unknown place and were frightened by the strange breath.
"What an evil breath!"
The three people sent by the Shangguan family, two men and one woman, all in their thirties, stood on the distant mountain peaks, with astonished faces and firm expressions. Almost at the same time, they flew towards Zusheng Village.
"Swoosh!"
The air suddenly cracked, and a stream of energy shuttled through and rushed straight towards the three people. The three people were so scared that they almost dodged it, and the energy passed by.
"Who's there?" The woman shouted coldly. She didn't expect that there was a powerful opponent lurking nearby, and the power of the energy was even more obvious.
However, there was no response, the attackers remained hidden, and their existence was covered up. Every step forward would attract more attacks.
Huai Lao blocked the three people and chose not to kill them because they were from the Shangguan family. His purpose was to prevent them from knowing Xiaofan's existence, so as to avoid unforeseen troubles.
Shangguan Lanruo finally rushed back to Zusheng Village, and the village was very quiet. Everyone was asleep at night and didn't know the strange phenomenon outside. Even if there was thunder, no one came out to look, thinking it was normal thunder.
In the bedroom, she found Xiaofan sweating all over. His face was distorted by pain, he twitched, fell into a nightmare, and was still in a deep coma.
"What happened? Was it too much stimulation this afternoon that caused the evil soul to wake up early?"
She touched his forehead and felt a black flame mark flashing, emitting a strong evil spirit.
"Xiaofan, I will do everything I can to keep you alive." She whispered, her voice soft and firm. She lay beside him, hugged him with both hands, let the energy in her body flow quickly, and merged her life essence with his.
Emerald green energy emanated from her, forming a protective shield around them, while life energy continued to seep into Xiaofan's body. Gradually, his convulsions began to subside.
Shangguan Lanruo held him tightly, injecting her essence into him, her clothes covered with sweat. However, her own vitality was gradually weakening, and her face was getting paler and paler.
For many years, she had transferred energy to him every night to suppress the evil spirit, causing herself to be exhausted and weak. Her martial arts did not improve during this time; it hurt her a lot.
Xiaofan didn't know, he often wondered why Shangguan Lanruo had slept with him for more than ten years, it turned out that she was doing it to suppress the evil thoughts in her body.
Two hours later, Shangguan Lanruo's true energy was exhausted, she was extremely weak, her face was as pale as paper, and her cultivation fell a level. She sacrificed her true energy and martial soul power and injected her true energy and martial soul power into Xiaofan's body.
"Xiao Fan, I hope you can get its recognition, so that you have a chance to live. I'm waiting for you at the top of Yunxian. If you don't come, I'll wait until the day I grow old and wither."
"Xiao Fan!"
She held his head in her arms, treating it as a treasure. Crystal tears flowed down her cheeks, soaking his thick black hair.
The next morning, the golden sun shone all over the world, making this day full of vitality. Xiao Fan woke up and subconsciously reached out to hug her, but found a void behind him. The familiar warmth disappeared, leaving only bursts of fragrance.
"Auntie..."
He jumped out of bed in a panic, forgetting to put on clothes, ran through every room, desperately looking for it, but the familiar figure he longed for was gone.
"Auntie, don't you want Xiao Fan anymore? Do you really not want me?"
He murmured to himself, with no light in his eyes, the world around him was gray, and his heart was empty and painful, as if everything he cherished had disappeared.